A More Beautiful World一個更美好的世界

薩拉·蘇利文　趙敏/譯

Eleven years ago—to the day—I was in your shoes at my own commencement. Its not so long ago， so I can still remember the victories and the late late nights， the tests and the setbacks， the near misses and wins that Im sure have brought you to today. Maybe you are overcoming generational odds2 to get here. Maybe you have faced more personal challenges than I could assume or imagine. All of you have done it within the context of the isolation and frustration， disruption and polarization of the last few years. Youve done it in the context of a world that can sometimes feel on fire， where Im sure its hard to imagine how this class or this paper will matter in the end. But you endured still and somehow because you must know that the advancement of your own mind always matters in the end. Now， thanks to how you have persisted， you get to sit here in your triumph. What a miracle. Congratulations.

十一年前的今天，我和你們一樣在參加自己的畢業典禮。時間還不算太久，所以我仍然記得那些勝利和熬夜、考驗和挫折、僥幸和成功。我相信，是以上種種使你們走到了今天。也許你們正在克服代際逆境來到這里，也許你們面臨的個人挑戰比我想象的還要多。在過去幾年的孤立與挫折、混亂和極化的背景下，你們所有人都做到了。在一個有時會感覺到燃燒般痛苦的世界里，你們所有人都做到了——我確信在這種情況下，很難想象這門課或這篇論文最終會有什么作用。但你們仍然以某種方式挺過來了，因為你們一定知道，到最后，你們自身思想的進步總是很重要的。因為你們的堅持，你們現在可以坐在這里收獲成功的喜悅。這真是一個奇跡。祝賀你們！

I studied sociology because I want to live in a more beautiful world. I studied sociology because I have the wild idea that maybe we can get to that world if we understand each other a little better.

我學習社會學是因為我想生活在一個更美好的世界里。我學習社會學是因為我有一個瘋狂的想法——如果我們能更好地理解彼此，也許我們就能到達那個世界。

For the 11 years since I graduated， I have been trying my best to contribute to making a more beautiful world. Ive gotten to see change happen at a scale and speed that is hard to fathom.

畢業后的11年里，我一直在盡最大的努力為建造一個更加美好的世界做出貢獻。我已經看到，變化以難以想象的規模和速度發生。

In 2016， the US Government was months behind schedule of meeting its target of clearing3 85，000 refugees for entry into the country， and tens of thousands of eligible refugees werent going to make it in time. President Obama asked my team to look at the problem. We met with frontline staff across 10 federal agencies to ask them what was wrong. When my colleagues talked to real people on the ground， we found out that expert DHS officers were spending part of their precious time flying around the world to physically sign paperwork. They werent allowed to sign forms digitally. This cost the government millions and kept refugees in camps longer than they needed to be. My colleague got the digital signature approved， DHS officers stopped flying around the world to sign forms， and 85，000 refugees left refugee camps and came to the US that year.

2016年，美國政府在實現其接納8.5萬名難民的目標上落后了幾個月，數萬名符合條件的難民無法及時入境。奧巴馬總統要求我的團隊研究這個問題。我們會見了10個聯邦機構的一線工作人員，詢問他們出了什么問題。當我的同事與當事人交談時，才發現國土安全部的專家官員們正將一部分寶貴的時間用于在世界各地飛來飛去親自簽署文書。他們不被允許以數字方式簽署文件。這耗費了政府數百萬美元的開支，也使難民在難民營中停留的時間過長。于是我的同事設法使數字簽名獲得批準，國土安全部官員們不再全球奔波簽文件，當年有8.5萬名難民離開難民營來到美國。

In 2020， I led a team of researchers to understand the experiences of young people who had recently been institutionalized4 in foster care. We talked to 78 young people who had recently been taken from their homes and placed in what are often prison-like settings. They shared their heartbreaking stories， poems， and art with us. Then， we published what we found in a book called Away From Home， and called for an end to the institutionalization of foster youth. When leaders in child welfare heard this information， they wept. Then， they changed. Within hours， two states came forward and said they were ending these institutions in their states. Within weeks， over 20 states said the same. Many people have told us that this report is the most important contribution to child welfare in 20 years.

2020年，我帶領一個研究團隊了解了最近被送往收容所寄養的青少年的經歷。我們采訪了78名青少年，他們最近從家里被帶走，安置在監獄般的環境中。他們與我們分享了自己令人心碎的故事、詩歌和美術作品。然后，我們出版了一本名為《離家》的書，呼吁不再將代養的青少年送往收容所。當兒童福利界的領導人聽到這一信息時，他們哭了。然后，他們做出了改變。幾個小時內，兩個州主動表示，將關閉本州的這些機構。幾周內，20多個州做出了同樣的承諾。許多人告訴我們，這份報告是20年來對兒童福利事業做出的最重要貢獻。

Im convinced that talking to those most impacted by our problems is the fastest way to solve them. The good news is that this is exactly what you have been training to do.

我相信，與那些受我們問題影響最大的人交談是解決問題的最快方式。好消息是，這正是你們一直在接受的教育。

My career has been around government. But all of our problems need the mind of a sociologist at the table. Whatever your job， whatever your field： be the sociologist at the table， and center the voices of real people in your work.

我的職業一直圍繞著政府工作。但我們所有的問題都需要一位實干派社會學家的頭腦。無論你做什么工作，無論你身處哪個領域：成為一名實干派的社會學家，在你的工作中注重傾聽真實人物的聲音。

As you do， here are a few practical tips Ive found for changing the world：

在此過程中，可參考以下我發現的一些改變世界的實用建議：

1. Find the Truth. Tell the Truth.

1.找到真相，講述真相。

Change making requires that you tell the purest truth you can in the calmest voice you can. But first， youve got to find the truth. Go talk to the people who are most impacted by our problems. Hear what they are saying. Find the patterns. Cultivate a curious， neutral mind that can understand reality from their perspective， not yours. See reality with the crispest， clearest eyes you can.

做出改變，需要你用最平靜的聲音說出最純粹的真相。但首先，你必須找到真相。去找那些受我們問題影響最大的人談一談，聽聽他們在說什么，找到范例。培養愛探究的中立思維，從他們的角度而不是你的角度來理解現實。用最敏銳、最清晰的眼光看待現實。

2. Open your Heart.

2.敞開心扉。

Academia is skittish5 about the heart， but changing the world has everything to do with your capacity to love. We cannot hate each other into unity. We cannot hate the world into its beauty. Believe me， if this could work， it would have worked already. Change making requires a vigorous， devotional practice of opening your heart—especially in moments you do not want to. Open your heart to people who think differently than you， who you want to hate and judge6， to systems that you feel you just cant tolerate and definitely cant understand.

學術界對人心感到不安，但改變世界與人們愛的能力息息相關。我們不能通過互相仇恨來實現團結。我們不能通過憎恨這個世界來讓它變美好。相信我，如果這樣做能奏效，那早就奏效了。做出改變需要我們積極、虔誠地敞開心扉，在你不想這樣做的時候更要如此：向那些與你想法不同的人敞開心扉，向那些你想憎恨和指責的人敞開心扉，向那些讓你覺得自己無法容忍、絕對無法理解的制度敞開心扉。

3. Strengthen your capacity to hope.

3.增強希望的能力。

Some of you have an allergic reaction to Hope because you think that cynicism is the way. Others of you will confuse optimism with Hope. But cynicism and optimism are equally delusional. They both fail to see reality as it actually is. Hope is the way of the pragmatist. It is hope that opens your mind and your heart at the same time. It is Hope that says： I dont know how… But I believe there is another way. Strengthen your capacity to hope.

你們中的一些人對希望談之色變，因為你們認為憤世嫉俗才是對的。還有一些人會把樂觀和希望混為一談。但憤世嫉俗和樂觀主義都是妄想。它們都沒有看到現實本身的樣子。希望是實用主義者的方式。希望能同時打開你的思想和心靈。希望說：我不知道怎么……但我相信還有另一種方法。要增強你希望的能力。

I dont know if studying sociology is wise. But I do know that it is brave. To stare into the face of our most daunting social problems without looking away or closing the heart is a brave thing to do. And it might be the only thing that can set us free.

我不知道學習社會學是否明智。但我知道這是勇敢的——直面最令人畏懼的社會問題而不移開視線或閉上心扉，這是一件需要勇氣的事情。這可能也是唯一能讓我們獲得自由的事情。

It is my personal belief that our souls did a lot of work in other realms to earn our place on planet Earth right now. I dont believe its an accident that we are here together today. We need exactly you to make the more beautiful world we see in our dreams. Youre my colleagues now. Ill be by your side.

我個人認為，我們的同伴在其他領域做了很多工作，現在才在地球上贏得一席之地。我認為我們今天聚在一起絕不是偶然。我們正需要你來一起建造我們夢想中更美好的世界。你們現在是我的同事了。我會在身邊支持你們。